NMPT sets up solar power systems on three buildings

New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) has set up three roof-top solar systems that can generate 350 kW of power.Of the three, a 250-kW roof-top solar plant has been set up on the administrative building of NMPT. Two more have been set up on guesthouse and hospital buildings of NMPT. The capacity of each of these two units is 50 kW.A press release by Ivan A Monterio, Chief Mechanical Engineer of NMPT, said here that the roof-top solar plant on administrative building is expected to generate 1,100 units of power a day. Each of the roof-top units on guesthouse and hospital buildings is expected to generate 225 units of power every day. These three buildings consume around 1,900 units a day.With the present tariff of ₹8.64 per unit, there will be a saving of around ₹13,392 a day in power bill.With around 300 clear sunny days in its premises, NMPT hopes to save around ₹40.2 lakh a year on power bill.Monterio said that the increase in the demand for power has led to scarcity of energy all over the country. In such a scenario, there could be frequent load shedding in the coming years.This may hamper the port activities during the peak hours.Considering the availability of solar energy, NMPT decided to set up solar power units in its premises, he said.PC Parida, Chairman of NMPT, inaugurated these three units recently, in the presence of Suresh P Shirwadkar, Deputy Chairman and other senior officers.